Some women can’t resist a man with a beard. There’s something so ruggedly handsome about it. I’m not talking about Willie Nelson or anything here. I’m talking David Beckham, Bradley Cooper, Jason Momoa, and even Ryan Reynolds when he grew one out. Swoon!
Beards have really come back in a major way, and as such, I’m seeing more and more guys going for it. Perhaps you thought you’d try your luck with one too but didn’t get the results you wanted.
There’s no magic pill that makes one grow out faster or thicker. A lot of it has to do with your DNA. Your facial hair patterns and the thickness for which it will come in are all coded inside you already. You can’t make it suddenly grow in one night. It’s just not going to happen.
But don’t despair, fellas, because there are some things you can do to get the best results.
Let’s be honest here… are you really taking good care of your health, or are you merely watching and waiting, wishing, hoping, and praying a beard sprouts? If I were to come over and look through your kitchen, would I find mostly healthy food choices with the occasional extras like chips and cookies? Or would I find processed junk and microwave meals?
That’s part of the answer to this equation. The other part is… did you try shaving your beard to make it grow back faster or thicker? Yeah, you got hit by a myth if you did.
Men and women are different on a lot of accounts, but we do have a lot of similarities. For one, each respective sex has its own set of urban legends for physical care. For another, we all want something we don’t have.
My desire to have thicker, fuller eyelashes is no different than your desire for the perfect beard. But for all of us, men and women, we have to accept that none of these things are ever truly perfect. Even that guy whose beard you envy doesn’t have a perfect beard.
However, if you want to grow out a beard and have it look its best and flatter your face, I have some excellent tips to help you get there. Keep reading, and by the end of this post, you’ll be a master at tending to your new beard!
1. Stay healthy to get a thicker, fuller beard
Ok, so what would I find in your kitchen? Don’t be shy, but be honest. If you want a healthy beard, you need to be healthy yourself. Just like if I want long eyelashes and beautiful hair and skin, I have to eat right too.
I’m not talking about the occasional cookie or scoop of ice cream here, but if that’s how you live daily, some things need to change for the greater good. You’ll stand a chance of growing a thicker, fuller beard plus the rest of you will be in prime shape, and beard or no beard, that’s sexy to any woman.
What to eat to grow your beard
Some of you might be surprised by how much better your beard will grow if you simply adopt a more healthy approach to eating. This means balance. This does not mean depriving yourself of pizza forever or, conversely, eating an entire pizza a day. Balance.
Look at your meals and try to fit the following foods into your plan. It’s ok if you don’t like all of them, but do be sure that you’re eating enough of the rest of them on this list:
▪ Eggs
Eggs are an easy one for most guys. They’re affordable on any budget and are versatile enough to make for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eggs have tons of protein and biotin, both of which are ideal assets for hair growth; hence they’re great for beard growth too. You also get calcium, iron, and zinc out of them, which work to keep you healthy and strong.
▪ Spinach
Arguably, spinach is one of the best things you can ever eat for maximum health inside and out. It has protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium, all of which can fuel your best beard growth too. I personally love spinach and will eat it any way I can, but I do recognize that not all of you will feel the same. If you truly can’t stand it, blend it into a smoothie with fresh fruits, and I swear to you, you will NEVER know it’s there. And if you like it, try making scrambled eggs with spinach for a one-two punch!
▪ Sweet Potatoes
While carrots also are high in beta-carotene, I find most guys like sweet potatoes a little more. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in your body, which is a pretty big deal because it promotes cell growth in your body including in the hairs you’re trying to grow on your face too!
▪ Liver
Ok, I’ll be honest. Liver makes me think of my grandpa’s favorite dish, liver, and onions. It’s an acquired taste. Organ meat, particularly liver, is brimming with protein, iron, and biotin. When I eat liver, I stick with chopped liver or pate because I prefer it that way. Give it a try!
▪ Oysters
Hopefully, you’re an adventurous eater. I love oysters, plus they’re a natural aphrodisiac which never hurts. But you should learn to love oysters because they have tons of zinc. Zinc helps your body build hair. And on top of that, oysters are plentiful in protein, so they’ll really help give you what you need.
▪ Cinnamon
And now, one that just about everyone likes… cinnamon! You can use cinnamon in just about everything. Add it to your sweet potatoes. Put it on your morning oatmeal. Add it to that smoothie with the fruit and spinach (particularly with bananas). It boosts circulation to all hair follicles, so grate it onto your favorite things when you want a sweet taste.
Whether you’re a ravenous or picky eater, you can also benefit from taking supplements that give you the nutrients we discussed above that you may be lacking. This will be especially helpful if you follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. I respect your position, but these nutrients are essential if you want to be healthy and if you want to grow a beard.
Supplements might even be a better choice for you if you made a face at everything I listed above. At least promise me this…eat healthier and take your vitamins. Please.
Before you buy just any supplement though, or even buy a ton of them, make sure you know how much of each vitamin and mineral you’re getting out of it. Some things absorb at different rates in your body, so even if a supplement claims you’re getting 100% of the daily recommended value in each serving, you might, in fact, be getting only one-quarter of that. Also, if you have any health conditions or take medications, talk to your doctor first to make sure there aren’t any conflicts.
How to increase your testosterone levels
Beard growth comes from the amount of testosterone your body produces. When you are creating a lot of testosterone, you also create more DHT, and the more of that you have, the more likely you’ll see beard growth.
If you’re worried about hormone levels, you should mention this at your next physical, but in the meantime, you can do a few things to get a testosterone boost naturally!
Here’s how:
- Sleep more! Make sure you get 7 to 10 hours every night. A 2003 study showed that testosterone is produced while you’re in the REM stage.
- Eat right! I covered some good things to eat above, but another key factor is eating enough. Don’t starve yourself. When you go too low-cal, you can hit your reproductive hormones. Even if you aren’t ready to be a dad or you’ve already been there and done that, you do not want to slow down your testosterone production.
- Do some resistance training! This type of exercise has been shown in studies to boost testosterone production. Even better, it increases the activity of your androgen receptors, which means that it absorbs more. Ideally, a body fat percentage that ranges from 8% to 14% is best, but don’t sweat it if you’re just a little bit over that. You don’t need a gym membership. Even just a set of dumbbells in your garage can make a difference, as long as you don’t let them collect dust.
2. Find out what beard style suits you best
You’ve probably noticed that not all beards are the same. They range in colors and lengths and coarseness. So, before you start growing one out, you should know which ones would flatter the shape of your face. Just because someone can grow a beard doesn’t mean they should.
For your best-bearded look, it should soften any harsh edges and make things look more balanced. So, if your face is long, you don’t want a beard that’s long and narrow. It will just make you look, well, longer. If you went with a wider and fuller beard that’s trimmed nicely up under the chin, it would really look hot. Meanwhile, if you have a square and wide face, you should do the opposite to lengthen it a bit. When you do things right with a beard, it will give you a more symmetrical appearance and boost your attractiveness.
3. Take care of the skin underneath your beard
One big mistake a lot of men make when growing beards is that they ignore the skin underneath the beard. Keep that skin healthy because the healthier it is, the better your beard will be.
When your beard is just starting out and on the shorter side of things, use a facial scrub. This will remove dead skin cells and help keep pores healthy. You don’t want clogged up pores or ingrown hairs. Even if no one can see them under the beard, you’ll feel them. Plus, clogged pores means your beard won’t grow in a healthy way.
Once your beard hair gets longer, you’ll need to work your fingertips between the hairs to care for the skin while you shower. Follow it with a good brushing afterward and then gently towel it dry.
Dry and itchy beards mean you need to use a beard oil, cream, or balm. Do not scratch at it! You’ll just irritate your skin.
If you have coconut oil or argan oil around, you can put that on your beard at night. It will soften the hairs and reduce itching too. Most men are surprised to find how much beards can itch. As a woman that has kissed quite a few guys with beards, it’s an itchy experience that I can’t imagine having on my own face 24/7. Expect some degree of itching, but with proper hygiene and grooming, you can reduce that irritation.
4. Be patient when growing your beard
That old saying about Rome is true for beards too. It won’t be built in just one day, so chill. In the first month, you will likely have very patchy places. But keep at it. Eventually, it should fill out.
Trimming it right now isn’t ideal because you’ll undo all that hard work. However, certain patchy areas may respond if you shave just that section against the grain. This will usually lead to hairs that grow back thicker thanks to cutting it at a different angle.
Also, keep in mind, hair grows at different lengths in different places. This happens all the time on your head, and it’s also the case if you grow out a beard. It may take using different razor grades on different sections to keep things even.
And just like the hair on your head, facial hair also grows at different rates, thicknesses, and in areas. Some guys, no matter what they do, can only grow a goatee. It’s part of your DNA, and you can’t change that.
But most men can get some kind of facial hairstyle. It’s up to you to let it grow and take care of it to see what will come from it. It requires you to let things happen for at least a month. For some men, it can take a full year.
5. Keep it clean
Some guys like that rustic and unkempt look. And that’s fine, but I prefer the clean and well-kept. If you work in a professional setting, it’s best to keep them shorter and well-trimmed. You’ll need to be pristine with maintenance, which is probably not a bad idea.
Let it grow for at least a month, all the while maintaining the jawline and top lip in 2-week intervals. You might find it helpful to visit a barber to help you get it looking suave and in between that, brush it every day.
A beard trimmer with a guard can give you a great finish when trimming without wrecking all your hard work. Just keep things steady, so you don’t ruin things around your mouth and mustache area.
Just so you know, it’s never a good look when the mustache part of your beard is hanging over your lips. You’ll think you’re eating spinach when you’re eating broth, plus it will be hard to kiss your lady without her getting a mouthful of hair. Comb the hairs from the mustache down and carefully trim it with scissors.
You should also keep the neck and cheek lines nice and tidy. This is the difference between Rip Van Winkle and sexy movie stars. Shaping it as it goes through growth phases is the key to getting your perfect beard style without looking like an old troll from under the bridge. As with just about any other thing, grooming is everything when it comes to beards!
Conclusion
Growing a beard doesn’t mean just stopping shaving and letting things run wild. You need to take care of your skin and keep things trimmed and groomed. You also need to take care of your health so that your body gets enough nutrients and produces enough testosterone. By following all these tips, you should hopefully see more hairs joining forces in unity in proper formation on your face.